CLEAN President Jon Berry's response
February 14, 2003
Jerry Holt
Mayor, Borough of Ringwood
60 Margaret King Avenue
Ringwood, NJ 07456
Dear Mayor Holt:
I am in receipt of your letter dated February 5, 2003.
You do make some valid points, but unfortunately they are undercut by several
inaccurate statements and assumptions. For example, your implication that
we are “outsiders” is a thinly veiled attempt to marginalize CLEAN and the
hundreds of Ringwood residents who actively support the organization. Skylands
CLEAN is very much a part of the fabric of community life in Ringwood, and
has been for well over a decade. And your assertion that residents view
open space as an overwhelming tax burden doesn’t hold up to the fact that
2,271 Ringwood voters (that is, 67% of those who voted) chose to cast their
ballots in favor of an open space fund tax in 2001.
Your letter broached a point that has long been a concern of Skylands CLEAN.
We too believe that funding our schools through local property taxes is unfair
and feel that the current system places an undue burden on local property
owners. Of course, if education were to be funded through another mechanism,
some other tax must be levied instead. There is no free ride or quick solution.
But the problem with your argument is that while the tax debate continues,
poor planning decisions, such as the development of West Brook Mountain,
will be justified by your argument.
At the same time, we must point out that if Ringwood had strong land use
protections in place (e.g. steep slope ordinance, environmental impact statement
requirement, well head protection, etc.), as CLEAN has long urged, then development
of this environmentally-sensitive property would not even be considered.
In fact, if you are serious about protecting properties such as this and
truly seeking compensation for the town, you will join us in promoting adequate
zoning laws in Ringwood. Without that, you could be accused of raising a
false issue to deflect attention from a very unpopular subdivision approval.
Which brings us to the issue you raised of compensating towns in the Highlands
for open space. Contrary to your assertion, CLEAN has long supported payment
in lieu of taxes (PILT), which Ringwood presently receives. We have also
supported a modest water user fee as an additional funding mechanism to encourage
better municipal stewardship of watershed land.
A fundamental flaw in your arguments is your assumption that every development
is a positive and provides tax benefits and that open space is a burden and
a ratable loss. Numerous studies have shown that this old, simplistic formula
is simply not true. And in Ringwood, the North Jersey District Water Supply
Commission is currently the Borough’s largest taxpayer. Their massive tracts
of undeveloped land (that is, open space) are an extremely positive Borough
ratable, requiring no municipal services and adding no children to our school
system. Conversely, the development of West Brook Mountain will be a negative
ratable, since upwards of 60 school children could be brought into our already-stressed
school system at a minimum cost of $9,200 each (it’s at least $12,000 for
each high school student). With two of Ringwood’s schools, Erskine and Hewitt,
at capacity, and the Cooper school near capacity, this one development might
well prompt the need for very costly new school construction. The “ratable”
that you claim would accrue from this subdivision, would be even further
diminished by the share taken by the County. Thus this development will
cost taxpayers more than it will bring in. Approval of this development
is neither reasonable nor responsible, and does nothing to help the plight
of Ringwood taxpayers.
We do agree that a dialogue among environmental and government leaders needs
to take place, and we have already secured funding from The Fund for New
Jersey to host a series of summits on issues of regional concern such as
these. Indeed, we had already planned to devote the first event to a discussion
of ratables, development, and open space. Leaders of the environmental community,
state-level government officials, and local officials who have a stake in
the outcome of such a debate, will be invited to participate. We welcome
your participation in a constructive dialogue. Please contact Robin O’Hearn,
CLEAN’s director, for further information.
Sincerely,
Jon Berry
President
email us at clean@skyclean.org